


This Is Heaven to Me

by Meadow Lion (Meadow_Lion)



Category: Corrina Corrina (1994)
Genre: Canon Character of Color, Canon Het Relationship, Canon Related, Civil Rights Movement, Epistolary, F/M, Family Feels, Historical References, IT'S SO FLUFFY, Interracial Relationship, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 10:49:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8887960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meadow_Lion/pseuds/Meadow%20Lion
Summary: Nothing is perfect, but love puts a shine on everything.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HYPERFocused](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HYPERFocused/gifts).



> Because the major ad campaign of the era for Jell-O occurred in 1964, the plastic version of Mr. Potato Head hit stores that year, and the _Queen for a Day_ series ran through then, I decided to presume the movie was set in 1964 as well. The _Name That Tune_ , _Our Gang_ , and _Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson_ inclusions could place the timing earlier, but, well, I didn't want to make the characters wait that long.
> 
> Billie Holiday sang the title song.
> 
> Any mistakes are mine.
> 
> HYPERFocused, like many readers, I've really enjoyed your stories over the years, and I hope you like this one for you!

December, 1964 - Fragrant from the pine branches above and winking with reflections from their tinsel drapery, this note rests atop the Singers' piano.

> Dear Santa,
> 
> This is the first year I'm writing to you. I hope you can find us. Corrina says you'll follow her anywhere she goes, and she's with us almost all the time now. She also says I'm too wonderful to get stuck with coal for a present.
> 
> I'm supposed to tell you what I want for Christmas. Daddy rolled his eyes when Corrina said that, but he was smiling, so I think it's okay. I know my mommy can't come back and I can't see her again yet, but that's okay too. Like Corrina promised, I miss Mommy a little less every day. Here's what I want now.
> 
> Daddy and Corrina to get married!  
>  Daddy and Corrina to stop smoking.  
>  A pretty chain for my new sunglasses -- and can you get Corrina a matching one?  
>  Matching bracelets for my best friend Lizzie and me.  
>  A locket for pictures of Grandpa and Mommy.  
>  A piano music book for Corrina and Daddy and me to learn together.  
>  Daddy and Corrina to get married!
> 
> I put that first and last so you know how important it is, okay, Santa? It's what I want more than anything. Maybe Grandpa already told you that. I hope you'll tell him and Mommy how much I love them, if you see them playing with the angels.
> 
> Thanks, Santa!
> 
> Love,  
>  Molly

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

June, 1967 - Secretarial staff for Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren delivers this letter to him, which he shares with his fellow justices.

> Dear Supremes of the Court,
> 
> My name is Molly Singer. I am sending you this letter because my daddy told me that you just made a really good decision about loving. It's going to change the whole country, especially my part of it. Daddy said that now he and Mama can get married! Mama is actually Corrina, and she's not my mommy, Annie, who died when I was little. After Mommy died, Corrina came to take care of me, and she and Daddy fell in love. Mama says, actually, we all fell in love with each other, and that sounds about right.
> 
> I asked my grandpa back then to make sure my daddy married Corrina, but Grandpa died too before he could help. Then I asked Santa Claus, but I asked for other things too and got those instead. I guess Grandpa and Santa needed a couple years with angels on their side to convince you. Maybe you were never quiet enough together at the table for the angels to get through to you before then?
> 
> I wanted just to be able to make it happen with magic, like blowing on the stop lights to make them turn green. Mama says, though, that big changes take time and work -- like cleaning houses takes hours to get right and bring out the best shine. I don't understand why anybody would want to keep apart Mama and Daddy, or any other people who love each other and bring out the best shine in each other like they do. I'm really glad you decided the law could bring people together instead.
> 
> They've been waiting so long already, Daddy and Mama don't want to wait anymore. They're going to have a little wedding in our backyard, with a platform over the sandbox and a trellis over that. My best friend, Lizzie, and I get to be flower girls, and Lizzie's brother, Percy, is going to be the ringbearer! It'll be on July 4th. Daddy said that's to celebrate the new freedom they have, but Mama said they're tying the knot so he'd better not feel too free. Aunt Jevina (who's Mama's matron of honor) just said, at least nobody has to take a day off work.
> 
> Maybe when you get a break from court, you can go talk to the Supremes from the radio and television, and get them to come sing at the wedding! Mama, Daddy, and I would really like that. You could come too, if you want. Then we could all thank you in person. You did something to make the country shine, and we are so happy.
> 
> Sincerely,  
>  Molly Singer

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

March, 1976 - On the table on Manny's side of the bed lie two well-worn chapbooks of Corrina's poetry and a multicolored plastic box -- within which, wrapped around a cassette tape made using Manny's home equipment for jingle samples, are these liner notes.

> Although this is Molly Singer's first album, ladies and gentlemen of the world, I can guarantee you right now that it will not be her last. From a rich musical background, Miss Singer has drawn together well-known sounds and styles into the magic of something brand new.
> 
> Her original songs, co-written with her parents, carry you along the register to the highs and lows of life. She gives you a sunny push of swing when you expect bluesy shade, a breath of fresh air when you've taken a final drag, and soulful rocking when too much bubblegum would've sent you drifting like a lost kite.
> 
> To polish everything off the most beautifully, she closes with a rendition of one of my favorites, "This Little Light of Mine." Imagine you've carried a bell inside your chest your whole life, and your heart is the clapper. Listening to the sweet clarity of Miss Singer's tones will make you feel as though your heart is ringing its joy to the heavens for the very first time. And that joy will linger long after you've finished listening; it will linger forever.
> 
> Corrina, Singer Home Studio

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

June, 1980 - The mailbox that is tiny, yet still seems bigger than the apartment where Molly and Lizzie have been unpacking all day, already contains this letter forwarded from Molly's college mailbox.

> Dear Mols,
> 
> Congrats to you and Lizzie on getting jobs at Columbia Records and Saks! I know the bottom is a lousy place to start, but at least it is a start. Corrina and I are so proud of you both. We know you'll be stars in no time.
> 
> Send us your new address and phone number soon. Even all grown up, you're still my little girl, and New York is a big city. I might worry less, if we can keep in touch. (Corrina is calling me out on that lie.) Besides we have a new piano to deliver for you two as a college graduation present, and I want to make sure it'll fit through your doors.
> 
> **Who wants to take a trip to New York? Make sure we get tickets not for two, but for four!**
> 
> (Yes, Corrina is pointing out how terrible my rhyme is again, but three for Kalamazoo isn't quite right for us anymore.)
> 
> We miss and love you a lot. You and Lizzie, hug each other for us, okay?
> 
> Love,  
>  Daddy and Mama

\- end - 


End file.
